Demon’s Revenge (High Demon #5)(61)
Author: Connie Suttle

Drake, Drew and a handful of others were there, waiting for us. Lissa’s twin Falchani mates were guarding Dantel and Darletta Schuul. I felt sorry for the twins immediately. Darletta’s mouth was in a pout as she stared at Drake and Drew, hoping, I’m sure, to lure both handsome Falchani into granting her favors or other things. Neither were swayed by anything she had to offer. Dantel Schuul was shouting, occasionally gripping the bars inside Lissa’s prison and threatening all of us with legal action when we walked in.

Gescht Prekisule was sullen, sitting on the small bed inside his cell and glaring in Dantel Schuul’s direction often. Matiss Meldrim held his head in his hands and moaned. Faldin’s bewildered expression let everyone know that he had no idea what had hit him. Several empty cells lay between Faldin’s and the last two, which held Zendeval Rjjn and Perdil the Dwarf. They were the ones I’d come to question, as soon as I felt up to it. Not only were Drake and Drew in Queen Lissa’s dungeon, but Tony, Rigo, Aryn and several other vampires were also present.

Dantel Schuul, who had no idea what sort of danger he was in, elected to shout louder at everyone as if that would solve his current dilemma. I was waiting for Lendill and Norian to arrive so they could witness anything I said or was said to me. Other visitors would arrive after that. At least that’s what Lendill told me. I’d asked Lendill to bring Teeg with him, too. He and I were about to have a short chat.

"We’re here, breah-mul," Lendill wanted to put an arm around me. I flung it away. No mate was welcome near me at the moment. "Reah?" Surely, he knew better than to turn that hurt look upon me.

"So, tell me what you are," I snapped at Zendeval Rjjn when I walked up to his cage.

"I will answer that for you," Kifirin appeared at my side. "He is the last of his kind now, since you killed his cousin and the others."

"Kifirin, state your business and leave," I said, turning to the god of the Dark Realm.

"Kifirin? Did you say Kifirin?" Zendeval was at the bars of his cage, and if there was such an emotion as crushed hope, he wore it.

"Yeah. Kifirin. The god of the Dark Realm and all that," I waved a hand loftily in mock grandeur. I didn’t add that in my mind he was the god of everything that was wrong with my life.

"Where were you?" Zendeval slid to his knees. "My father asked and asked, but you never heard."

"I answered, you were just too deaf to hear," Kifirin blew smoke. "Every woman who became ill when they were bitten would have borne children to that particular Greater Demon. Yet you and your kind sold them. All of them."

"What?" Zendeval didn’t understand. I was now staring at Kifirin in shock. He’d called Zendeval a Greater Demon. He was right, too, about the claiming. A claiming always made the female High Demon ill. For days. I’d been ill for days after Zendeval attacked me. I wanted to slap Kifirin.

"Reah became ill," Zendeval whispered.

"Reah is High Demon. Among that race, there are only seventeen females. Females have never been plentiful among the immortal Dark races. Did your father never tell you that? And yes, Reah could ha Ren. Ave borne your children. You might have convinced her, if you’d treated her better."

"My father only said that the females of our kind must be protected." Zendeval hung his head.

"The females who would have accepted your seed deserved your protection, too. How were they treated, son of the last Greater Demon King?"

"You already know the answer to that."

"I do."

"Reah?" Zendeval raised his eyes to me.

"You’ll never touch me again," I said. "And thanks to you, none of my other mates might touch me either." I turned to Perdil’s cell. Just as always, he was watching and listening. "What did you hope to gain out of all this?" I asked him.

"I? I wanted what all my kind wants. Wealth and power." Perdil’s voice was a growl as he turned away from my steady gaze.

"Somehow, I don’t believe that. But I’m past caring, I think."

"Reah, what is going on?" Teeg had come to stand behind me. Tory and Ry were right behind him. Lendill was watching me closely after I’d rebuffed him.

"She’s pregnant with your child, I already told you that," Lendill announced. "But she became dangerously ill after that filth bit her." He jerked his head in Zendeval’s direction. I wanted to hit him for that. This was neither the time nor the place for that announcement. Now Zendeval and Perdil knew. I didn’t want them to know. Didn’t wish for them to have that knowledge—of how badly they’d hurt me. If it hadn’t been for Teeki and Neeki, it was likely that Teeg’s child would now be just a memory.

"Shut up," I hissed at Lendill.

"Reah, how ill were you? Are you sure the baby is all right? I want Karzac to do a full examination." Teeg cursed. At Zendeval Rjjn. At me. At Dantel Schuul and everyone else there, his eyes red. I was surprised we weren’t getting the full blast of fangs, eyes and compulsion.

"Teeg, don’t get self-righteous with me. This is all your fault."

"I had nothing to do with this," he hissed. Fangs were likely to pop out next, unless I missed my guess.

"Come here." I hauled him by the arm toward the other cells. "Tell me you don’t recognize him," I jerked Teeg around to face Faldin Bierla.

One sniff told Teeg what he wanted to know. His nose was just as good as his mother’s, I think. "Prin Ralnik?" Teeg was staring at Faldin.

"It took a while to figure it out, but you had to get that chip from somewhere, didn’t you?" I poked Teeg in the chest. "The one to keep me from skipping or sending mindspeech. Only your little helper here took it a few steps further, and then sold the technology to Dantel Schuul. Your technology, Teeg, made it possible for the pirates to operate across both Alliances. Allowed the Schuuls and their partners to rape, kill, and sell into slavery anyone they wanted. They were well on their way to controlling everything. And it’s your fault."

Teeg stood as if thunderstruck. "I didn’t know the compulsion didn’t work."

"Too bad, Teeg. It didn’t. Forget about taking me to Campiaa while I’m pregnant. I won’t go." I stalked away from him.

"I want to kill you, you little f**ker,&quole bout t; Teeg reached in to haul Faldin against the bars of his cell. "I hired you. Paid you well and handed over the schematics. And then thought I’d placed compulsion well enough that this would never see the light of day again. And what do you do with it?" Faldin gazed helplessly into eyes so deep a red they were almost black. I watched as wetness stained Faldin’s trousers. I walked over to him after Teeg let him go.